EDITORS’ PICK
A Street of Dreams
STREET LIFE
Street Life Editors’ Pick
“A street is not gauged by its length and width, but by the broadness of its vision and the height of its dreams.” – Herb Caen
Following David Alan Harvey’s selection of winning images for our STREET LIFE theme, this compilation of 20 images, selected by the Life Framer editors represents some of the other talented photographers whose work struck us and left a mark. Each a stunning image worthy of exposure and attention…
These are intended to be a conversation starter… so feel free to join the discussion on our social networks.
Banner image courtesy of Michael Meissner.
Editor’s comment: “Wonderful, vibrant colors and a nice, modest use of the rule of thirds. Also a fantastic capture of a precarious method of wall painting most of us will never have to try.”
Image courtesy of Marinka Masséus.
www.marinkamasseus.com and Instagram: @marinkamasseus
Editor’s comment: “Hauntingly beautiful, this is one of the best captures from last month’s series of street shots. There’s something very different going on behind the eyes of each subject, yet the picture holds together perfectly”.
Image and courtesy of Alan Burles.
“Street photography can be more than shapes, shadows, silhouettes, movement, colours. It can be rich in ideas, humour and narrative, as Elliot Erwitt has shown his whole career. Life gives constantly and I consider my photos to be gifts. It is almost seeing without looking. The photographs happen to me – I do not search out the photographs. My photographs were reviewed in a magazine in China recently and I managed to get the Cantonese text translated. The reviewer said “Sometimes it needs you to just enjoy his work, sometimes it requires your eyes to listen to the jokes its telling you”. I now call the way I work Listening With My Eyes.”
www.alanburles.com and Instagram: @alanburles
Editor’s comment: “A beautiful composition involving both symmetry and color, Alan brings a bit of brightness, cheer, and humor, with this shot. For a subject matter that fills most people with thoughts of mundanity and stress, this moment is pure joy.”
Image courtesy of Cedric Roux.
www.cedricroux.com and Instagram: @cedricroux
Editor’s comment: “This image works well on a number of different levels. The corner placement, the students on their backs on one side, yet standing on the other, the muted colors… and of course that sense of mystery, not knowing what’s holding their attention. All of the elements work seamlessly together.”
Image and text courtesy of Makis Makris.
“Photography for me is a creative process that has as a starting point the internalized, esoteric world of the creator and how he tries to express and commune all of his innermost thoughts and concerns to his surroundings through images. Elements, fragments that compose the daily life which are located either in the most familiar and intimate places or outside as a part of the complexity of the human activities are the raw materials of which the photographer becomes a creator of a new world – a new reality, a substantially transformed one. All these elements, free from their actual substance, become a sum of hints within lies, the truth of the photographer himself and the code of his view of the world.”
Instagram: @makismakris8338
Editor’s comment: “A great mood piece from the unusual perspective of looking out from a car. The soft focus and sharp contrasts really work in setting both the tone and feeling. It’s like a dream world is sitting just outside your window.”
Image courtesy of Georg Worecki.
Editor’s comment: “Another wonderful juxtaposition, this time adding a bit of humor. Of course the legs are the substance but those sunglasses are the icing on the cake. So many different stories could be created here that it would be perfect for a “caption this” game.”
Image courtesy of Anne Harbers.
Instagram: @anneharberss
Editor’s comment: “Part of being a great street photographer is being in the right place and the right time, and this is certainly an example of that. The steam, the arms out, the leg raised, the colors. It’s a child’s-eye view of adventure on the street and it couldn’t be more perfect.”
Image and text courtesy of Oleg Tolstoy from his series Silicon Beach.
www.olegtolstoy.com and Instagram: @olegtolstoy
“Technology lies at the heart of our progression as a race. However while space tourism and cryptocurrencies grab the headlines, it’s the humble smartphone that is leading the way. Our phones have changed the way we interact with our friends and the world around us, but has this tool built specifically to advance our communication actually eroded the fundamental foundations of human connection? Each iPhone has ‘designed by Apple in California’ written on its back but the majority are assembled in Shenzhen, China’s own Silicon Valley. In recent years millions have flocked from the provinces to this highly advanced technological metropolis. They work hard and on Dameshina Beach, one of the busiest stretches of sand in the world, they play hard. My images uncover the complex relationship between technology, each other, our connection with space, and the experiences we have within it. As we gawp at the subjects squinting to avoid the glare of the sun and the sea on their screens what are we to think? Is this experience enhancement or detraction from the moment? Indeed could this be a startling glimpse at the future of leisure as we know it? I dare us to question our assumptions – if others people in other places choose only to see and experience their free time in ways which make them feel comfortable, who are we to say they should do otherwise?”
Editor’s comment: “A wonderful piece of social commentary, how better to capture the irony regarding the place technology holds in our lives today. Is the subject’s behavior truly excessive or is it just “par for the course” in a world where smartphones have changed the way we relate to the world around us?”
Image and text courtesy of Eloi Du Bois from his series My Fantastic Americans.
www.life-framer.com/photographer/eloi-du-bois
“This series of picture is coming from a project a started when I arrived to the USA from France. I was amazed how people can really be what they chose to be, how deep they express their beliefs and exteriorize their originality or culture. For someone who likes taking portraits it’s a perfect playground.”
Editor’s comment: “This photo feels extraordinarily honest. There’s something in their look that smacks of genuineness, and even though the eyes are in shadow, they still seem to be windows to the soul.”
Image and text courtesy of Fabian Muir.
“Discarded mannequins, Rey, Iran.”
www.fabianmuir.com and Instagram: @fabianmuir
Editor’s comment: “This shot of discarded mannequins in Iran is a wonderful bit of juxtaposition. It captures a piece of the duality of the world—both in the mannequins themselves, but also in the stark contrasts and the black and white format. That nudity is so taboo in Iran is a delicious additional twist.”
Image and text courtesy of Charlotte J Ward.
“This image of children residents of the Dhobi Ghat in Mumbai, is part of a series I shot there in 2017 documenting the life and work of this huge community in the south of the city.”
www.charlottejward.com and Instagram: @charlotte.jward
Editor’s comment: “The diversity of expression in these children are what make this more than just an ordinary shot. From looks to body posture, each boy has something unique to offer.”
Pop-Corn courtesy of Konstantin Gribov.
www.konstantingribov.com and Instagram: @kgribov
Editor’s comment: “This shot is a masterclass in shape and color. The unusual point of view combined with the utter simplicity of the edit are just two of the elements that make this a capture worth coming back to.”
Image and text courtesy of Daniel Homer.
“This series attempts to capture the spirit of Europe’s largest street festival – the Notting Hill Carnival – which originated over fifty years ago in the British capital under the stewardship of afro-caribbean communities to bridge cultural gaps. Today it is an extravagant masquerade affair, replete with dance routines, binge drinking and raw sexuality, juxtaposed against the giddy participation of children eager to impress as young performers.”
www.danielstephenhomer.com and Instagram: @daniel_stephen_homer
Editor’s comment: “This photo is a perfect example of composition that draws the eyes to one place, then bounces your attention from element to element. Each piece has a very different emotional flavor, yet they work well together as a whole. The jaunty viewpoint helps articulate the the dynanism and freneticism of the environment.”
Image courtesy of Andrea Torrei.
Editor’s comment: “While many photos from Ghana show women carrying incredibly heavy loads gracefully on their heads, one just doesn’t expect to see a sewing machine. A great combination of the traditional, the modern, and the unexpected.”
Image and text courtesy of Giovanni Mori.
“The old cities of Lebanon, Tyre, Tripoli, Sidon have something in common, something that impressed me so much – some of the most picturesque and efficient taxi services I have ever seen. In these chaotic cities you can be anywhere and you will always find a taxi ready to take you where you want to go. The funny and expert taxi drivers will read your needy stare and with a small honk they will draw your attention to their beautiful charming car – a 40 year old Mercedes more or less well preserved. Some of these cars still have the plastic film on the seats, some of them are literally falling apart. Hundreds of old Mercedes are like a continuous conveyor belt that moves in all the small streets of the downtowns with an incessant concert of honks as a soundtrack, and like the blood in veins they move people and stuff and make the city alive”.
www.giovannimori.porfoliobox.net and Instagram: @gianni_giovanni_mori
Editor’s comment: “This image captures not just the classic old Mercedes taxi, but also the mood of the street and sense of power lines as capillaries. It’s a street scene that’s at once mysterious, celebratory, and just a little bit dangerous. Nice edit.”
Image courtesy of Teovel Iradon.
Instagram: @iradonteovel
Editor’s comments: “This shot caught the moment so perfectly it looks like the subject’s walking a tightrope rather than jumping into the river. A great capture.”
Image and text courtesy of Lucy Ridgard.
“A portrait study of teenage boys looking at street style in pockets of Morrocco and South Africa. The images are set against the social and architectural fabric of the cities and beyond.”
www.lucyridgard.com and Instagram: @lucyridgardphotography
Editor’s comments: “This image is a gem. Everything about this subject seems to capture the truth of the social challenges his life has surrounded him with.”
Image courtesy of Stan De Zoysa.
www.standezoysa.com and Instagram: @lone_rider_stan
Editor’s comments: “One of the appeals of good street photography lies in curious juxtapositions, and that’s definitely true in this shot. The seams are so well blended between these two drastically different perspectives, it’s only common sense that tells you they aren’t on the same plane.”
Image and text courtesy of Arthur Bauer from his series Kazan in February.
“Attracted by the ethnical diversity and the political distance to Moscow, I spent 4 weeks in Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia, to portray the peculiarities of this widely unknown city.”
www.arthurbauer.net and Instagram: @artem.bur
Editor’s comments: “Beautiful lighting, wonderful color, the curious juxtaposition of the teddy bears with hearts on their feet next to the rifles, and most of all, the look on the subject’s face make this an image both fascinating and haunting.”
Image and text courtesy of Urszula Chylaszek.
“Every summer in Northern Ireland on the night of 11th July hundreds of bonfires are lit as a part of The Twelfth – a festival celebrated mostly in protestant working class areas. My photographs taken in the summer this year show one of the bonfires in Shankill, a very loyalist district of Belfast. Building bonfires starts a few months earlier. It’s usually young men who do it but local kids often come to the bonfire and help or just play and have fun. The Twelfth commemorates the Battle of The Boyne from 1690 where William III of Orange defeated James II on 12th July and commenced a period of time known in history as Ascendancy. It meant political and economic domination of the Protestant minority over the Catholic majority on the island of Ireland. A century later King William’s supporters created an association to promote Protestantism. That’s how The Orange Order was born. Each year members of all orange halls march in parades alongside with the bands. The bonfires refer to beacons lit up along the coastline to help King William’s army find their way.”
Editor’s comments: “The style of this image – black and white with a slightly ominous tint – makes this bonfire-building shot look like it’s a scene from a movie. It grabs attention from foreground to background, and makes one wonder at the story behind it and what’s going to happen next.”
